This medium sized place opened around 2007 and our delightful waiter has been here the entire time. They have 2 dining areas, one for 30 and the other for 20 persons. The sommelier joined the staff around 2011 when the restaurant received their one star Michelin rating. The 2 chefs are a couple but only Szabina was there that night as Tamas was prepping for the Bocuse awards. They offer a couple tasting menus and a la carte options as well as wine pairings.
We chose the tasting menu recommended by the chefs and ordered our own bottles of wine. You’ll notice on the menu the soup was a Bocuse prize winner in 2013. It placed in the top 10 of Europe and the was the first Hungarian to achieve a spot in the top 10. The staff takes great pride in their food and couldn’t do enough to make our visit a memorable occasion. The food was gorgeously presented and delicious as well – combine this with the friendly service and it was a great experience and one I’d encourage anyone to put on their to-do list!
In true Michelin style there are a lot more things to taste than are listed on the menu. We started with cabbage crisps that were puff pastry that contained a stewed cabbage. It was a yummy bite with a hint of anise in the sweet cabbage. Then the bread cart arrives with 20+ flavors of house made breads. How to choose – you pick what you want and my problem was that by the time we had our bowl on the table I couldn’t remember which was which but what fun to try bites of so many. They accompanied this with 3 choices of spreads but it’s hard to beat a good plain butter to enhance a flavored bread.
The potato sampler of 3 tasty variations of potatoes. The next amuse was a quail egg in spinach sauce that was surprisingly strong in flavor but the sunchoke chip was the really special part of this one. The last amuse of marinated morel mushrooms and duck liver blended tastes very well and add to that delicate fried onion rings and you have an amazing combination.
The menu started with the pumpkin variation that used several types of squash including spaghetti squash and a sauce of honey and vinegar. It added some roasted seeds to give a nice texture and taste. Tart, cool and sweet – it was many flavors working well together.
The sashimi had tastes of ginger, jalapeño, paprika, sesame and soy sauce. The darker turnip had been marinated in soy sauce and fish flakes. This was a fusion dish that really worked – such nice textures and a little spice.
The lamb was coarsely ground and wrapped in kale and served with marinated onion, baked paprika, sweetbread and sauced with an oniony broth. Amazing – so full of flavor!
The saibling was a type of trout and served with cauliflower purée, citrus, pear and sweet onion. It had a wonderful aroma.
The goulash soup contains some coffee beans and bits of lemon that have been stored in salt. The ravioli are stuffed with beef shoulder and there is some celery root on top and some unknown ingredient that gave it just a hint of heat(spice).
The venison was served with black salsify, dried apple, and a black pudding of pork and apple. Yum! The venison was nicely tender but as venison often is, a little dry. However just combine the pudding with a bite of meat and it is a winner.
The goat milk panna cotta contained carrot sponge cake and carrot drops and across the top was the most delicate chocolate biscuit with chocolate drops. It was best dropped into the glass and mixed with the rest. It was a lot of items but they all blended well. Not too sweet but just sweet enough.
The second dessert had cranberry sorbet, cranberry drops, chestnut spaghetti and purée, chocolate brownie, chocolate mousse, and sesame ice cream. The crispy roll with chestnut filling was great. They continued to bring out sweets that I had to try but I think my tastebuds were reaching exhaustion cause I made no notes but the ending drink cart was an incredible selection to end a wonderful meal with.
